He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 39

I Became the Unprecedented Mad Emperor – Episode 39 (39/300)

I Became the Unprecedented Mad Emperor 39

Espionage is a crucial element, regardless of the era or location, be it Earth or another world.

And each spy is, in essence, a treasure trove of information.

Naturally, captured spies are often subjected to brutal torture, so I, having captured a doppelganger, would also torture him—

“Why aren’t you eating? Lost your appetite?”

……I didn’t.

Instead, I treated him to a lavish meal.

“Ah, don’t worry, it’s not poisoned. You were the one with the poison, not me, from the start, right?”

“……What are you plotting? Do you think I’ll give in just because of this?”

The doppelganger, looking like a young boy, spoke with an air of determination.

“Really? Then I guess I’ll eat it all.”

Swish-

I pulled the delicious-looking steak in front of him towards me and started cutting into it.

“Hmm, even though the Empire is in this state, the chefs are still amazing. Even if the country falls, I won’t have to worry about starving.”

It’s said that people can survive for a month without food, but the truth is, almost everyone struggles after just one day of hunger.

And this guy hasn’t eaten for three days, even when offered food.

As I started *mukbang* [a live online audiovisual broadcast in which a host eats large quantities of food while interacting with their audience] in front of him, I could see him salivating.

“You’re only hurting yourself by holding out like that.”

“Kuh…….”

“I’m not kidding, I’m making you a good offer here. What kind of ruler would treat an assassin who tried to kill him without a reason?”

Of course, I’m trying to win him over; his usefulness outweighs his resentment, that’s why I’m doing this.

Of course, to maximize the effect of this persuasion, it would be better to accompany it with appropriate torture, but I decided to offer a carrot first.

Torture can be done anytime, so if it doesn’t work, I can always resort to it.

“I highly value your abilities.”

“……Hmph, that’s only natural. I am the very excellent Mirror among the doppelgangers.”

He’s so easily flattered that it’s almost cute.

Well, his personality is clear, making him easy to understand.

“That’s right, it’s too obvious. So, how about using that for me?”

“Why should I?”

“Conversely, is there a reason why you shouldn’t?”

If he were a spy with strong patriotism or loyalty, it would be difficult to persuade him.

But even if it’s just my intuition, I didn’t think this guy was that type.

He seems to have a strong sense of pride, but he seems more like someone with a strong desire for recognition than someone who is upright.

Of course, I wasn’t being optimistic based solely on such physiognomy-like [judging character from facial features] judgments.

If he were a truly thorough guy who wouldn’t leave even a hint of betrayal, he would have eaten the poisoned food and killed himself when I told him to.

But this guy desperately tried to escape.

That means he’s not the type to readily die for a mission, at least.

“Because I’m a proud demon!”

“Is that so? But pride won’t feed you. The treatment you receive seems terrible compared to your abilities.”

“Kuh, are you trying to insult me?”

“Oh, it’s not like that. But think about it.”

The assassination mission to kill the Emperor is, of course, extremely dangerous.

Even if the Empire is falling apart, the security of the Imperial Palace cannot be ignored; it’s generally close to a suicide mission.

Of course, the doppelganger’s ability to mimic and transform makes it worth trying, but even so, the assassin’s risk is not small.

“You’ve taken on an incredibly great risk and made a tremendous contribution to the Demon World. But do they reward that dedication? It doesn’t seem like it to me?”

If you do difficult things well, the higher-ups think, “Then you can do even more difficult things, right?” and throw even more difficult things at you.

I’ve become a higher-up now, but in my previous life, I was just an ordinary citizen who had no choice but to suffer such things.

“They’ll probably put you on an even more difficult mission without any special reward. Wasn’t this mission assigned to you that way in the first place?”

“Th, that’s…….”

Perhaps it hit the nail on the head, as he couldn’t refute it properly.

He’s proud, but he doesn’t seem like he’d pretend to be pitiful on purpose, so he’s probably not acting.

“How are you any different?”

“Oh, of course, I also want my subordinates to do better. That’s no different. But I don’t do things like not giving proper rewards and exploiting them.”

I probably wouldn’t be much different from the aforementioned exploitative employer mindset.

People are all the same in the end.

But I’m aware of that mindset, and I know at least a little bit of shame, so I’m returning the rewards to my subordinates and partners as much as they work.

From the day I was possessed, I’ve been using the corrupt officials I saw appropriately, but that was also the price for squeezing them for work.

Similarly, I brought in merchants for my grand plan, but I didn’t subjugate them with force like the average noble lords of this era, but I enticed them with vested interests.

Even Hendrick, who was originally an enemy, had all his wishes granted after proving his abilities.

“I guarantee you, working under me will be much better than playing under those guys.”

“……Hmph, anyone can say that. I won’t be fooled by such words and betray them.”

He showed a bit of wavering, but he still didn’t come over easily with just this.

But I chuckled and said.

“Oh, about that. You don’t have to betray them right away.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Mirror’s expression turned bewildered at my sudden words.

“It’s as it sounds. You don’t have to betray them even while cooperating with me.”

“That’s sophistry.”

“No? Your mission is to kill me and act like me, right?”

In short, the essence of the mission objective is not to kill me, but to act as the Emperor.

“I’ll let you play the Emperor to your heart’s content.”

“……What are you thinking, really?”

“You’re not stupid, are you? Think about it carefully.”

I need someone to use as a substitute for various reasons.

And Mirror’s mission is to play the fake Emperor.

Of course, leaking information is probably an additional goal.

I can leak some of that information appropriately. Of course, it’ll be mostly useless or disguised as fake.

“I can use you to deceive my political enemies, and you can show that you’ve succeeded in your mission. It’s a mutually beneficial deal.”

“……You’re crazy, you’re really going to do that?”

“It’s a crazy plan. But it’s a crazy good offer for you.”

You no longer have to infiltrate dangerously to kill someone.

A job where you can eat and play safely while being treated at the highest level in the Imperial Palace.

Wow, is that even a dream job that’s hard to find in the Republic of Korea in 2022?

“It would be nice if you formally naturalized to me, but I’m not dissatisfied with just that for now. Well, of course, if you refuse, I’ll have to get rough…… Honestly, isn’t refusing this a matter of intelligence?”

“…….”

As I said that, I could see him wavering noticeably.

I smirked and snapped my fingers, calling the servants.

More lavish food and drinks came out.

And beautifully dressed women were attending to him, acting cute.

Of course, they’re all female intelligence agents trained by the Grand Empress Dowager. I need someone to keep an eye on him, after all, right?

Anyway, that’s not important…….

“I am generous.”

Saying a line that a bald, pierced emperor of an evil empire might say, I looked down at him with a solemn gaze.

“If you only obey me, you can get everything you want.”

What will you do?

“I, I’m not betraying them yet.”

……Mirror said, even as he picked up the food and ate it.

[The favorability of the Mirror Doppelganger has slightly increased.]

[Prospera of Prosperity is impressed by the scheme to win over the enemy.]

[Prospera’s favor has increased by 1 level.]

Yeah, yeah. You haven’t betrayed them.

Not yet, anyway.

* * *

During a turbulent time when the Empire was shaking and called the fall of mankind.

The Empire is already in a state where a civil war could break out at any moment, but with the Emperor and the Seven Elector Counts checking each other, a large-scale civil war would not break out immediately.

However, the conflict between the Emperor and Karstein was growing more and more.

They were on the verge of exploding.

If the two forces clashed, one side was destined to fall, but surprisingly, there were only minor disputes and no war yet.

The reason was simpler than expected.

“Why haven’t we heard from that doppelganger bastard?”

The doppelganger who was supposed to assassinate the Emperor, no, not assassinate, but act as the Emperor himself, had been silent for three months.

Of course, given the nature of the matter, it might take time, but even so, there was no news at all, so there was no way to know whether he had succeeded, failed, or not even tried yet.

“There’s no benefit to dragging things out…….”

If war was inevitable anyway, Karstein didn’t have much time.

Time was on the Emperor’s side rather than his, and the longer it was delayed, the more the Emperor increased his money and the size of his army.

On the other hand, the aftermath of Karstein’s excommunication was slowly appearing.

He was still being followed, but more and more vassals and feudal lords were questioning the Duke’s leadership.

“Damn it, we shouldn’t have joined hands with the demons.”

The demons were as cunning a race as humans.

It’s hard to find a different race that isn’t, but anyway, Karstein regretted trusting them entirely.

Of course, it was already reaping the rewards of colluding with cultists, who could be said to be puppets of the demons, so there was no point in regretting it now.

“Duke, an unidentified person says they want to see you.”

“What? Who sent them?”

“……They say they were sent from the Imperial Palace.”

“……! Finally!”

If it was someone who came from the hostile Imperial Family while hiding their identity, it meant that he sent them, unless they were an assassin.

Karstein met the secret agent in one breath.

And the news he soon heard from him was what he had been eagerly waiting for.

“Yo, you really replaced the Emperor?”

“……Your voice is too loud. Anyway, the mission was successful.”

“Heh, haha…… This is ridiculous.”

Things were going too well.

Karstein laughed in disbelief because things were going too well.

“……Wait, but how can I believe that you were really sent by that doppelganger?”

But Karstein was eccentric, but he wasn’t the type to not know caution.

“Well, I knew you’d say that. Here’s the information I stole from the Imperial Palace.”

As soon as he expressed his doubts, the secret agent handed over the information as if he had been waiting for it.

When he checked the written content, there was quite detailed information written.

Of course, just looking at it, there was no way to know if it was actually matching information.

“You can find out if you check it, right? If you still don’t believe it, just don’t believe it. We don’t necessarily need you for our plan anyway.”

“Wa, wait! I, I was being rude. Tell the demons that I’m grateful.”

Seeing him trying to leave without a bit of regret, Karstein quickly apologized and handed over a considerable amount of treasure.

“As expected, Duke, you are generous. I will convey the Duke’s sincerity well.”

Then the secret agent smiled contentedly and stepped back.

He wanted to put a tail on him, but he couldn’t because there weren’t many people around him that he could trust.

But Karstein erased his doubts, thinking that it was too much to suspect even that far.

“Hehe, I’ve won with this.”

He was confident of victory.

Because of that, he couldn’t see the cleverly hidden trap.